UN chief Antonio Guterres arrived in Baghdad today to review the humanitarian situation, calling for protection of civilians to be the "absolute priority" as Iraqi forces battle to retake Mosul.
	Hundreds of thousands of civilians remain in Mosul, which was seized by the Islamic State group in 2014, and officials and witnesses have said that air strikes have taken a devastating toll on civilians in the city this month.
	"Just arrived in Iraq to focus on the dire humanitarian situation on the ground. Protection of civilians must be the absolute priority," a post on the UN chief's official Twitter account said.
	Guterres was to meet top Iraqi officials including Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi in Baghdad before flying to Arbil, the capital of the country's autonomous Kurdish region.
	In addition to civilians caught in the crossfire inside the city, many more have fled their homes to escape the fighting.
	According to Iraqi authorities, more than 200,000 civilians have fled west Mosul ...

UN chief Guterres lands in Iraq to review aid efforts

PTI Automatic

Lawmakers in the US state of North Carolina have reached an agreement to repeal a controversial law setting rules on which bathrooms transgender people can use in public buildings.
	But the deal reported by US media still has to pass a series of hurdles in the state legislature today..
	And gay and lesbian groups complained that even the new arrangement is unfair to them.
	The initial legislation in the generally conservative southern state was a highlight of the broader cultural war between conservatives and liberals in contemporary America.
	As passed in March 2016, the law, often referred to as HB2, stated that in schools and government buildings transgender people had to use restrooms corresponding with the gender on their birth certificate.
	That rule was widely condemned as discriminatory, and resulted in North Carolina suffering a string of business boycotts.
	Performers such as Bruce Springsteen and major sports groups cancelled events, and there was blowback from corporate ...

US state reaches deal to repeal transgender "bathroom law"

Swedish clothing giant Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) today announced the launch of its eighth fashion brand as tough market conditions in the US and Central Europe hurt profits.
	H&M's pretax profit fell to 3.2 billion kronor (335 million euros, $360 million) in the December to February period, the first quarter of the company's financial year, from 3.3 billion kronor the previous year, it said.
	"For fashion retail in general, market conditions were very tough in many of our large markets in central and southern Europe and in the US, and this was reflected in our sales," CEO Karl-Johan Persson said in a statement.
	The new brand, ARKET, will be launched after the summer with the first store to open in London followed by Brussels, Copenhagen and Munich and online operations in 18 European markets in early autumn, the group said.
	It offers clothes for men, women and children and household products, which will be more expensive than H&M.
	Each store will also include a coffee ...

H&M launches new upmarket brand as profits slow

Self-exiled opposition leader Sam Rainsy was sentenced to 20 months in prison by a Cambodian court today for accusing the government of assassinating a prominent critic.
	The verdict is the latest legal case to hamper an opposition movement struggling to break Prime Minister Hun Sen's 32-year grip on power.
	The defamation charge centred around the brazen daylight murder of political commentator Kem Ley in July, whose killing sent shudders through Cambodia's hard-pressed rights community.
	Many feared the assassination was orchestrated by forces loyal to Hun Sen, who has been cracking down on critics ahead of elections in 2018.
	Former opposition leader Rainsy, Hun Sen's top foe, called Kem Ley's murder an act of "state terrorism" and said "the government was behind the assassination."
	The strongman premier hit back with a defamation charge.
	Today, a Phnom Penh court sentenced Rainsy to 20 months in jail in absentia, with Judge Y Thavrak declaring him guilty of "public defamation ...

Cambodia slaps exiled opposition leader with new jail term

Shares related to Fosun Group, one of China's biggest private companies and owner of Club Med, slumped today after a turbulent week in which it announced a profit surge but also the resignation of its CEO and co-founder.
	Shanghai-based Fosun said on Tuesday that CEO Liang Xinjun had resigned from all his posts due to unspecified "health reasons", prompting questions over the direction of a diversified company that has made wide-ranging acquisitions around the world.
	Fosun vice president Ding Guoqi also stepped down, saying he needed to devote more time to his family.
	Hong Kong-listed shares of Fosun International were down 1.19 per cent in afternoon trading today.
	Shares of other Fosun units also lost ground in trading on mainland China's stock markets.
	Fosun Group has interests in property, finance, pharmaceuticals, steel and entertainment, and has been aggressively buying assets in Europe and North America.
	Among these, in 2015 it emerged the victor in a long-running battle to 

Shares in China's Fosun drop after management reshuffle

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Ankara today ahead of talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Turkey seeks better relations with the new administration in Washington.
	Tillerson is the most senior American official to visit Turkey since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January and he is due to also meet with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
	Officials from the NATO allies said the ministers would discuss issues including the Syrian conflict, now in its seventh year.
	The visit comes after Turkey announced its military offensive in northern Syria was over, without detailing whether that signified withdrawal of its troops from the war-torn country.
	Ties between Ankara and Washington were strained under the Barack Obama administration over the US's cooperation with Syrian Kurdish militia fighting the Islamic State group (IS).
	Ankara views the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) as a "terror group" linked to Kurdish separatists waging an ...

US Secretary of State Tillerson arrives in Ankara

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he is "totally against" international friendlies following injuries to key central defenders Chris Smalling and Phil Jones on England duty.
     Mourinho expects to be without five first-team players against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, including the injured Paul Pogba and suspended Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
     "I am totally against the friendly matches," Mourinho told Sky Sports, after Jones had to withdraw from the England squad with a toe injury suffered in a training ground clash with Smalling, who pulled out after sustaining a leg injury in the Germany friendly.
     Both defenders missed England's 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Lithuania, leading Mourinho to question the need for friendlies during the season.
     "I think friendly matches for the national team only make sense before the final phases," he said.
     "A couple of weeks before the Euros or a couple of weeks before the World Cup makes sense. But mid-season friendly ..

Mourinho 'totally against' international friendlies

South Korea plans to allow its women's football team to make a rare visit to the North next week, it said Thursday, raising the prospect of the South's flag flying in Pyongyang.
     An AFC Women's Asian Cup qualifying group will take place in the North's capital from Monday, with the rival Koreas due to meet on Friday.
     It would be the first full competitive football match between the two Koreas in the North, rather than friendlies, for either the men's or women's team.
     The neighbours remain technically in conflict after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, and relations between them have plunged in recent months.
     But Asian Football Confederation (AFC) officials have told AFP that the Pyongyang matches will be played according to FIFA protocol rules -- which normally require that both countries' flags fly at the stadium and their anthems are played before kick-off.
     Seoul requires its citizens to obtain permission before going ..

South Korea set to let women's team play in North

German star Bastian Schweinsteiger said he is ready to make an immediate start to his Major League Soccer career with Chicago Fire at a formal presentation before journalists here Wednesday.
     The 32-year-old former Bayern Munich and Manchester United midfielder told reporters he was available to make his debut in Chicago's clash with Montreal Impact this Saturday if selected.
     "I am 32 years old. I am ready, but of course I need more training sessions to have the right rhythm, to be where I want to see myself," Schweinsteiger said.
     "My head is more than 100 percent. I feel quite comfortable. The session was pretty intense today and I could do it, so that was good.
     "I was preparing before I came here and, of course, I need some days more training but I feel I am ready whenever the coach needs me."
     Schweinsteiger, a key member of Germany's 2014 World Cup-winning team, confirmed his move to MLS last week after struggling to find a role at Manchester United.
     ...

Schweinsteiger eager to start MLS career

FBI agents have arrested a Mexican prosecutor suspected of involvement in a ring producing and trafficking illegal drugs including heroin and cocaine into the US, authorities have said.
	Edgar Veytia, the attorney general in Mexico's western state of Nayarit, was arrested Monday at the US border in San Diego. He was detained on a warrant from a New York state court.
	Veytia was believed to have been detained on the bridge between San Diego and the Tijuana airport, local media reported.
	"This is a development that we were not expecting," Nayarit Governor Roberto Sandoval said without addressing the alleged high-level crime.
	"The details... Still have not been made public yet. It will be up to US authorities to address those," he told reporters.
	In the indictment read by AFP, prosecutors said Veytia is facing three counts: conspiracy to produce and distribute heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, conspiracy to import those substances, and conspiracy to distribute ...

FBI arrests Mexican prosecutor over drug trafficking:officials

A 40,000 year old piece of raven bone that was etched with near-even lines suggests Neanderthals had an eye for esthetics, French researchers said today.
	Neanderthals, who were cousins of modern men and who disappeared some 38,000 years ago, are known to have used pigments and collected bird feathers and shells, sometimes burying objects with the dead.
	Now, the 1.5 centimeter piece of bone found at an archeological site in Crimea suggests they may have etched lines in a way that appeared deliberate, and may have been symbolic or decorative.
	Microscopic analysis showed that six grooves were added at first, and two more later, perhaps to make the distance between them more even.
	"We could therefore show that Neanderthals made etches with the intent of creating a visually harmonious -- and perhaps symbolic -- motif," said researcher Francesco d'Errico, a paleontologist with the University of Bordeaux, and lead author of the study in the journal PLOS ONE.
	"There was at least some ...

Decorated bird bone suggests Neanderthals had eye for

Torrential rain hampered relief efforts today after a powerful cyclone wreaked havoc in northeast Australia, with floods sparking emergency rescues as fed-up tourists wait to be evacuated from resort islands.
	Cyclone Debbie has pummelled Queensland state since crashing ashore as category four storm on Tuesday between Bowen and Airlie Beach, ripping up trees, washing boats onto land and causing widespread damage.
	It has been downgraded to a tropical low as it tracks southeast, but continues to pack damaging wind gusts and dump huge amounts of rain, with Brisbane now in the firing line.
	Meteorologists forecast the city would be soaked by a month's worth of rain in a single day, with the popular Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast areas also in for a drenching before the system moves offshore tomorrow.
	"We have a very, very large state here and this is a very, very big weather system that's going to wreak havoc all the way down the coast," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk ...

Torrential rain, floods hamper Australia cyclone relief

Argentina's Senate has voted unanimously to legalize medical marijuana, joining the lower house and setting the country on course to become the latest to relax its laws on pot.
	President Mauricio Macri is all but certain to sign the bill, which garnered an unusual level of cross-party support and was applauded by patients and their families.
	A group of mothers with sick children burst into tearful applause in the Senate as lawmakers voted 58-0 to pass the bill.
	"This is a dream fulfilled, an immense happiness because it will bring solace to patients," said Maria Laura Alasi, whose four-year-old daughter Josefina suffers from West syndrome, a form of epilepsy that causes her to have dozens of seizures a day.
	The new law lifts a ban on importing cannabis oil and allows Argentines to buy it with a prescription.
	It stops short of allowing home-grown marijuana, something young patients' families had demanded.
	"I have faith the senators will find a way around that," said Alasi. "A lot 

Argentine Congress votes to legalize medical marijuana

Turkey has announced its military campaign inside northern Syria was over, without specifying whether it will pull its troops out from the neighbouring country.
	Turkey's top advisory national security council chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday said the half-year long offensive in Syria has been "concluded successfully," in a statement.
	Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also said the operation has been completed but did not rule out new military campaigns inside Syria under a different name.
	"Euphrates Shield is over. A potential operation from now if needed will take another name," Yildirim told the private NTV television.
	It was not immediately clear if that signified a plan to withdraw Turkish troops, or if operations would continue elsewhere under another name.
	In August, Turkey launched an ambitious military campaign inside Syria, dubbed Euphrates Shield, targeting Islamic State (IS) jihadists and Syrian Kurdish militia fighters that Ankara says are ...

Turkey says ends its military operation in northern Syria

Arab leaders meeting today at a summit in Jordan denounced "foreign interference" in their affairs, in reference to Iran, and called for the settlement of conflicts that are tearing the region apart.
	As at previous summits, the leaders of the 22-member Arab League criticised Iran, but without naming the Shiite-dominated main regional rival of Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia.
	"We reject any intervention in the internal affairs of Arab countries," they said in a declaration at the end of their one-day meeting in the Jordanian town of Sweimeh on the Dead Sea coast.
	In their statement, they also called for a revival of "serious and productive peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians" and renewed their commitment to a two-state solution.
	Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has sent mixed signals over how his administration will address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including a break with decades of US policy by saying he would be open to a one-state ...

Arab leaders denounce 'foreign interference'

The United States warned today that it would use its presidency of the UN Security Council to review the performance of peacekeeping missions worldwide.
	The council is due to vote in the next few days on whether to extend or to cut back the 19,000-strong UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
	And US President Donald Trump made it clear in his first budget request to Congress that he hopes to cut America's funding to the United Nations.
	US ambassador Nikki Haley will become president of the council for the month of April, and she made it plain that peacekeeping will be under the microscope.
	"I came to the UN with the goal of showing the American people value for their investment in this institution," she told the Council on Foreign Relations.
	Haley insisted that Washington's aim was to make the missions more effective and with a clear exit strategy, not only to save money.
	But she was clear that the US share of the USD 7.9 billion UN peacekeeping budget would have to ...

US envoy warns of deep review of UN peacekeeping

Turkey today said its military campaign inside northern Syria was over, without specifying whether it will pull its troops out from the neighbouring country.
	Turkey's top advisory national security council chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the half-year long offensive in Syria has been "concluded successfully."
	Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also said the operation has been completed but did not rule out new military campaigns inside Syria.

Turkey ends military operation inside northern Syria:officials

Turkey today voiced anger after it emerged that the US consulate in Istanbul had contacted a chief suspect in last year's failed coup, who is currently on the run.
	But the US embassy in Turkey said its Istanbul consulate contacted theology lecturer Adil Oksuz only to inform him that his American visa had been revoked.
	The affair comes on the eve of a key visit by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson who is due to meet in Ankara with Turkish leaders including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
	Turkish officials have said that Oksuz was the so-called "imam" of the plot and in charge of coordinating between US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen and the army before the July 15 failed coup.
	Gulen is accused by Ankara of ordering the attempted putsch aimed at overthrowing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He strongly denies the charges.
	Oksuz was detained in the aftermath of the coup but then released and is now on the run.
	The embassy in Ankara said the US consulate general in Istanbul called .

Turkey frustrated after US embassy confirms contact with coup

Spain will host a gathering of southern European Union nations on April 10 to discuss Britain's negotiations to leave the bloc, the Spanish government said today.
	Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and the leaders of France, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Malta will gather on April 10 at El Pardo palace outside Madrid, his office said on its website.
	"The main goal of this meeting is to discuss all the work that is being carried out to have good Brexit negotiations," it said.
	The meeting of the leaders will be the third by the group following gatherings in Athens in September and Lisbon in January.
	Southern European leaders have sought at past meetings to forge a common front on growing challenges, from the refugee crisis to Brexit, and to counter the influence of nations in northern Europe within the bloc.
	Rajoy had announced at the Lisbon meeting that Spain would host the next gathering of the group, without giving a date.
	The announcement of the date of the gathering ..

Spain to host southern EU leaders Brexit meeting

Kenya's High Court today gave parliament 60 days to enact legislation that would make it obligatory to have more female lawmakers, or face dissolution.
	The 2010 constitution requires that no more than two thirds of lawmakers should be men, a principle hailed at the time as a big step towards equality.
	However the current male-dominated parliament has repeatedly rejected legislation to enforce this.
	Four rights groups had petitioned the courts to compel parliament to enact such a law before a general election on August 8, saying there was a  risk of a constitutional crisis.
	High Court Judge John Mativo said that by failing to pass the required law, parliament was guilty of a "gross violation" of the constitution.
	"Parliament has a constitutional obligation to enact the requisite legislation and failure to do so within the stipulated period is in my view unacceptable and a blatant breach of their constitutional duty," he said, according to a copy of the ruling seen by AFP.
	He said 

Kenya court orders parliament to pass gender quota

Britain's ambassador to the United Nations vowed today that the launch of European Union exit negotiations would not hurt his country's role on the world stage.
	Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said Britain would continue to align itself with shared EU positions on issues before the Security Council while Brexit talks are continuing.
	And he promised that, even after London and Brussels have completed their divorce, Britain would retain its powerful permanent seat on the UN council.
	"The United Kingdom continues to be a full member of the European Union until the end of the two-year process that the prime minister triggered today," Rycroft said.
	"Whenever there are positions of the European Union we will faithfully represent them on the Security Council," he told reporters, after chairing a meeting of the body.
	"We were a permanent member of the Security Council before we joined the EU. We were a permanent member as a member of the EU. And we will continue to be a permanent member of ...

AFP

AFP

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